This Friday is Earth Day! For over 40 years, Earth Day—April 22—has inspired and mobilized individuals and organizations worldwide to demonstrate their commitment to environmental protection and sustainability.

I don’t believe I’ve ever actively participated in Earth Day on my own, so this year I’m taking the initiative and giving all of you my readers a challenge! If you read my blog, you most likely are also concerned with your own health so here are my top two Earth Day healthy challenges for you to complete.

1. Go vegan or vegetarian for the entire day.

A less drastic approach would be to eat like a locavore (ie only eat foods that were grown nearby). If you are already vegan, skip down to #2.

A 2006 United Nation report revealed that the “livestock sector” generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, trains, ships, and planes in the world combined. The livestock sector is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide emissions. Nitrous oxide is considerably more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. According to the U.N., the meat, egg, and dairy industries account for a staggering 65 percent of nitrous oxide emissions.”

To help combat climate change, cut back on the meat you eat.

“If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains … the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads. … If every American had one meat-free meal per week, it would be the same as taking more than 5 million cars off our roads. Having one meat-free day per week would be the same as taking 8 million cars off American roads.”

2. Plant a home garden in your backyard or even a window box of full of herbs if you live in a city like me.

Starting your own little garden without pesticides benefits the environment and removes toxins from your own diet.

Having a backyard full of fresh herbs is handy when you’re cooking and saves you money. You are reducing carbon emissions used to transport your food. You are also reducing the amount waste that it takes to get the food from the foreign country to your table. A garden significantly reduces greenhouse gas which promotes climate change, waste and improves your health.

There are many more ways to participate in Earth Day like drinking out of a reusable water bottle, walking or biking instead of driving but these are sorta obvious ones that I feel you can do on a regular basis starting today. If you aren’t, start thinking about how to give back. Going vegan even just one day a week takes a bit of research and preparation which is why I’m posting this today!

If you plan to go vegan, click the “Like” button below or share on Twitter with the hashtag #VeganEarthDay. I always say I could be a vegan and now I have a moral reason to do so once a week. I’m helping the environment 🙂

I love grocery shopping. I love to just browse the isles looking for new products to try and share. Ever since college, I’ve been abandoned as a super market partner. I’m ok with it though, because I like to take my time. Since I started blogging, I have found that many of you are like me and that makes me feel in good company. This past weekend, I noticed a few new products that caught my eye and wanted to share.

Dannon and Stonyfield have come out with their own lines of Greek Yogurt. This is good because it means, greek yogurt on sale! Trader Joe’s is great, but the new TLC show about couponing is making me feel slightly left out. Beware though! Many of these fruit flavored yogurt are LOADED with sugar like the product pictured above. Opt for plain greek yogurt and sweeten it yourself with stevia, honey or fruit. I will still probably buy my old favorite brands because I like supporting smaller companies and prefer organic but this is great for people looking to save money.

Also, my favorite cereal company has come out with 2 new cereals! Berry Blossoms and Golden Goodness are now on shelves and look delicious. I did not buy because I’m trying to slim down for a photo shoot in few weeks, but will definitely be trying them out. The Berry Blossoms look good to add volume to a home made trail mix and the Golden Goodness would be great to add to your greek yogurt for a lower calorie version of granola. I would suggest using 1/2 a serving as 1 whole serving is 210 calories for 1 1/4 cup (which is a lot to add to greek yogurt).

At Walgreens, I saw a new line of Gatorade called G Fit Series. The electrolyte beverage has only 20 calories and zero chemicals sweeteners! I bought the mango flavor and loved it. This is great for a post long run in warm weather because not only are you replacing lost hydration but you also get a few healthy recovery carbs to recharge your muscles and energy! The zero calorie electrolyte beverages miss out on this benefit so make sure you check these out. There are 2 other products as a part of the series. A recovery drink with 120 calories and 12 grams of whey protein and a prime bar for energy pre-workout. The bars are broken up into 4 pieces, individually wrapped so each one has between 40-50 calories. I bought both of these and will give you a review later in the week.

Posted onApril 19, 2011|Comments Off on Marathon Monday Makes Me Want To Run

Were you inspired to run a marathon yesterday? I know I was. I watched the last .2 miles of the Boston Marathon yesterday in awe of the determination and endurance of the 27,000 runners who ran. Every year I say, I’m going to run next year. I then go out for an easy long jog and after 5.5 miles, I realize, “Holy Sh*t. 26.2 miles is really freaking far. I don’t think my flat feet are going to like training for that and neither will my knees.” However, I will run the Boston Marathon. Maybe not next year, but one day I will. I watched the elite runners at the corner of Comm Ave and Hereford, the 2nd to last turn before they sprint the last leg of the race.

Here is Ryan Hall, the American runner who came in 4th and broke the record for the fastest time recorded by a runner from the US. It’s been a long time since an American has won Boston. When the women went by, the American was still winning. She was “out kicked” by the winner.

Here is the view from Newbury Street. Hereford was jam packed and no cars were allowed on most of Newbury. Quite peaceful actually.

At the finish, the runners were given their medals. It was quite touching to see them placed over the heads of the runners. I am so jealous at this point in taking the pictures and wonder when someday that will be me.

Then they get a bag of goodies! These people just burned up to 2600 calories! They need some major fuel to recover. Not sure why Wise potato chips are in this bag, but never the less, bagels, bananas and gatorade should help.

Have you run a marathon? What inspired you to run your first marathon? How did you beat thinking “I can’t run a marathon”?

If you have not run a marathon, do you have any desire to attempt to run one?

Marathon Monday is one of the most celebrated holidays in Massachusetts. The kiddies get the day off from school, the college students choose to get wasted, and the the older folk have parties and line the route to cheer on their friends running the 26.2 historic course.

I live only a few blocks from the finish line, but growing up I always watched in Wellesley. The incredible number of spectators for the Boston marathon is half a million!

I will be visiting a party close to my house today to cheer on blog friends like Lizzie, and 27,000 more people (38,000 ran it for he 100th anniversary)! I’ll be cheering for Kara Goucher. She lost by 9 seconds two years ago. She has a mantra that she runs with each year, repeating while she runs. This year she is repeating “Free” because she is free from the expectations and just wants to go out there and give her best personal performance.

As an fyi 80% of the runners did qualify for the marathon. So if you are feeling inspired today while watching at home, know that these people accomplished the below times! If you do not qualify, you can still run, but you must run on behalf of a charity and are required to raise about $3,000 (it varies on organization). I always get encouraged to run but I am working on my first half first :). It’s on my bucket list.